Daydream Mine (Nicholas)

Today we went to the daydream mine. To get there we had to go on the road to Silverton and turn off at about the half way point. From there to the mine was dirt road, and last night there had been 26ml of rain. The best bits of the drive were: the river crossing, the “dips” and the part of the road that was all mud. Dad went in and instead of following common sense he sped up and drifted through the turn.

The mine came in two parts: the above ground bit and the below ground bit. In the above ground bit we were told interesting information about different parts of the mine complex. Such as there being about 100 guys per every girl; the small cave/storehouse where they used to store the black powder for the explosive charges used to break through solid rock, was also used to keep babies out of the heat so that they had a lesser chance of dying; and the various uses of some different plants that grew around the property.

Before we entered the mine we put on a helmet with a head torch so we could actually see! We were bent double because lots of the tunnels were so small. I was grateful for the helmet because I hit my head on the roof numerous times. It was hard to imagine how difficult it was for the miners in that era to break through solid rock, lots of the time bent double and often going almost straight down.

The method that the miners employed in the mine was to dig a big chamber and search around for a seam of silver ore. After finding the seam they dig and take the silver ore to the surface and leave the mullock (excess rock and other rubble) in the chamber they had so laboriously dug out.

The hazards with mining and the main reasons that the minors died were lead poisoning, dust, and various drugs including opium and toxins in the plants they used in making their beer. The lead poisoning was from the cans that contained their food because they were sealed with lead. The dust was from setting off the explosions while the miners were still under ground and no breathing apparatus to stop them inhaling the dust. In the time that the mine was in use opium wasn’t illegal so the miners put it in their tobacco to stop the pain from hard labour down the mines.

It was an overall amazing and informative experience that I would gladly do again.